Knowledge Base

Can I contribute a tool on nanoHUB that has binary code only?

Generally, we don’t recommend submitting binary code as a tool on nanoHUB. Code can be sensitive to changes in libraries or other changes in our operating system and compiled binaries do not allow adjustments to the source code to account for a changing environment. Thus, they are very delicate and likely to break.

It is far more advisable for you to contact someone at the site where you found the code and ask for the source code and permission to upload it to nanoHUB.

Some exceptions to this policy may be made if the nanoHUB member interested in uploading the code has made every effort to obtain the source code first, and the code is potentially useful to more than a few nanoHUB users. In that case, the submitter must still take responsibility for obtaining permission to upload the code to nanoHUB and also takes responsibility if the code breaks. nanoHUB staff will not support such codes or spend time trying to determine the problem if a code suddenly breaks.